Sustainable Transportation Benefits Both Public Health and the Environment

Panelists at an EMBARQ discussion on traffic safety.

By the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Health Team

Sustainable urban transportation is one of the primary focus areas for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Program. Getting people out of private vehicles and into public transportation is important for reducing the injuries, deaths and diseases associated with traffic crashes, carbon emissions, and physical inactivity. To promote safer urban transport, Bloomberg Philanthropies partners with EMBARQ, a top sustainable urban transportation organization and a program of the World Resources Institute. EMBARQ advises both government officials and the private sector on transportation and urban development. Bloomberg Philanthropies supports their work in Brazil, India, Mexico, and Turkey, helping to ensure that sustainable transport initiatives, such as citywide bike lanes and Bus Rapid Transit systems, are as safe as possible.

Sustainable transport initiatives are gaining traction worldwide, but developers often overlook what should be a key component in their planning and implementation – traffic safety. With our support, EMBARQ released new research detailing how sustainable urban transportation and projects to reduce traffic can have positive impacts on road safety.

EMBARQ announced the findings at a conference on the relationship between sustainable transport and traffic safety. Members of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Health staff attended and participated in discussions with road safety experts from around the country on the report’s impacts. Click here for more details on EMBARQ’s “Saving Lives with Sustainable Transport” report.